The story so far:
----Aija, Zuri, and Ze are three friends, who were working at the Pristine School at Innermost. Aija gets involved with the Ytai first, leading Zuri and Ze to them as well. Zuri falls in love with Nala (Lalana), who is Ytai and works with Thieron. Aija and Ze are captured by Thieron, of H'eon, when they were at the Hospital - Aija was at the Hospital with Kuna of R'ies and Zuri to stop a Harvest; Ze was there to visit his sick student Xan. Thieron has bound Aija to himself, and Nala has bound Ze to herself. Luka works for Thieron(Ah'n), along with Lalana (Nala).
----Aija, Ze, Thieron, Luka, and Nala go to the South Land. Luka admits that they are there for a Harvest. While they are on the Harvest, they get stopped by a group of people - the Zayr. Aija and Ze meet Princess Ruyanir of the Zayr. Ze and the Princess have an instant connection. The Prince has requested Aija and Ze to meet him. Prince Irih' va and Aija have a conversation about the Àvo; he explains how it works. Aija seems to like the Prince. The Prince gives Aija a strand of his golden hair - for protection. Irih' va sees Aija in his future but isn't sure she will choose him. He wants her to choose him. Irih' va catches Ze using his powers, and he shows Ze that he, too, has the same powers.
----Etrie tells Zuri that he is going to kill Thieron and Nala. She is very adamant that she, too, goes to the Ker'zan with them.
----Aija, Ze, Thieron, Nala, and Luka go to the Ker'zan. Ze and Aija escape from the three Ytai. Ze tells Aija about the escape Prince Irih' va has offered them. Ze leaves, accepting the escape offer. Aija rejects the escape offer and goes back in to find Luka.
----Luka, when he searches for Ze, finds Aija running away. He is intercepted by Kuna - who is prepared for an attack.
----Luka tackles Kuna, and the Gale starts to attack. He sees that Aija is captured other H'eon Ytai.
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****37.1 - Iyler****
Iyler dressed in gear.
John helped her fasten the holster that held her rifle and put on the badge to her gear, indicating she was second in Command.
Premier Red had told them that Goldstar wouldn't be able to join them. The whole squad's motivation had come down a notch, but this had to be done whether he was coming or not. Iyler had been surprised when he had called her; they never called each other.
John Anderson was instead made the first in Command due to his experience in the Army. Iyler had initially thought that John was the better one for the role because of his experience. Goldstar was still too young. He did have many achievements despite his age, but the Ker'zan was a whole different level.
"Ready?" John asked her.
She let out a breath and nodded. She was as ready as she could be. Never enough.
Her task was to rescue Aija Rao-Oshiro. Someone else was tasked with getting Ze Roan out. They had received information that the boy was Thieron as well, and Etrie Ay'tir had refused to rescue them both because of the bonds.
The Gale planned to rescue them and capture Thieron, Lalana, and Luka and keep them close till they figured out a way to remove the bond. That way, Aija, and Ze would be safe and alive; plus, they would have the three Ytai. Goldstar had been very doubtful of their plan. He had told them to be careful, that capturing those three wasn't easy – if it were, it would have been done already.
But, John had been confident and had convinced Premier Red that it had to be done now, or they wouldn't get another chance.
Iyler had wondered why Goldstar had been so worried. He was generally very enthusiastic and proactive when it came to any mission, but this time, he had been wary. Maybe, it was because he wasn't going to be there in the midst of all the action?
There were about fifty of them attacking possibly hundreds of Ytai. Admittedly, the balance was off, especially more so because the Ytai were stronger than humans. But, it didn't deter John. He was heading the mission now and was determined to succeed.
The fifty of them had already arrived at the Open two days ago and prepped for the attack.
Once everyone was in gear and was ready, John split them into groups of ten. Each of the five groups went in a different direction, as previously instructed. Iyler was with John, Jax Aier, and seven other Gale members.
"Let's go!" John commanded and wore his air purifying mask.
The rest of them followed suit as they stepped out of the air-conditioned Gale farmhouse into the Open. They left the rundown farm by foot and walked through fields of sugarcane and maize, taking the roundabout route. Iyler stayed close to John. She wondered how this would have gone if Goldstar was there instead.
They arrived at the palatial building and stopped a few feet away among the crops. John and Iyler surveyed the area and found no security. Well, the Ytai didn't need any extra protection; they could take care of themselves. For the first time, Iyler wondered if this was a bad idea.
"Everyone knows what to do?" John asked. Everyone there nodded, and the Leaders from the other teams confirmed with yeses heard through their sound rounds, all of them connected to the other.
John nodded, "Let's go."
Everyone walked towards the Mansion. John caught hold of Iyler's hand; she stopped. After the others had walked ahead, he hugged her tightly, and she hugged him back. He let her go and nodded once.
They ran to the back of the building, the only wall made of stone. Through the large floor to ceiling windows at the side, they had seen the inside, crowded with Ytai. When they reached the wall, they removed the small wall climbers from their pockets and slid it onto their palms and switched them on. John nodded to her and started his climb of the wall. Iyler followed him with ease, the vibrations of the device as she pressed it to the wall each time, calming her. They reached the first floor, and John kicked the window open. The Ytai didn't startle; they just looked at them and smiled like they were expecting them. The others had reached too, and Jax Aier had started shooting randomly at the Ytai, aiming for their heads and succeeding in every few shots.
Their entry had been too easy. The Ytai even looked like they were waiting for the Gale. Of course, they knew the Gale was attacking, and the Ytai had a way of collecting secret information. But, Iyler had expected them to have some defense in place; perhaps they didn't need it.
Iyler made her way across the room of fighting Ytai and humans. Her only focus was on the human girl. Get the girl and get out of there. Most Ytai attacked the Gale members, the gunshots doing nothing much to them. She removed the climbers and took hold of her rifle.
She reached what looked like a balcony. A Ytai woman came at her with a blade. Iyler shot her straight in the head; the woman fell lifeless to the ground. Iyler looked up and found Aija Rao-Oshiro descending a flight of stairs. She was in a black dress, dressed formally for the event. Several Ytai had their eyes on the girl. Iyler ran and caught the girl.
"Let go!" Aija screamed.
"Aija Rao-Oshiro!" Iyler screamed over the chaos, holding her tightly as the girl tried to escape. "Aija Rao-Oshiro. I'm here to rescue you."
"What? Let me go! Luka!" Aija yelled.
Why was she calling out to Luka? "I'm from the Gale." she tried to explain as Aija tried to get away from her. "I'm Iyler. Please stop struggling, Aija."
"No," Aija said, her voice almost sad. "I can't go with you. Luka!"
Why was this girl struggling to go back to her captors? Iyler had thought the girl would be happy to escape.
Someone shot from their rifles close by, the sound loud even in the chaos. Iyler's grip loosened as she startled. Aija pulled away from Iyler and ran away.
"Aija!" Iyler shouted.
What's wrong with that girl? She thought. It was dangerous. The Gale not only had rifles and guns, but they had also managed to acquire bombs. They would detonate in some time, and she needed to get Aija out of there before it happened.
"Damn! Damn! Damn!" she yelled, running after Aija. Why did she run to Eamon Luka? Wasn't she glad to be rescued?
Her task had been simple. As the other Gale members attacked the Ytai, she was to rescue Aija. John was to capture Thieron. Others had been tasked to capture Ah'n and Alton Ivar.
Iyler ran towards Aija and came to a halt as someone blocked her. He had long blonde hair, and each eye was a different color. She knew Ah'n's description, and this was him. Ah'n in the flesh. She gripped her rifle tighter in fear. What should she do now?
"You must be a Gale lead," Ah'n told her in perfect CommLang as he pointed to the badge on her uniform. She was second in-lead, technically; second to John Anderson, but a lead anyway.
Ah'n grinned maliciously at her and stepped closer to her. She pointed the rifle to him but was too late. Or rather, he was immensely swift as he gripped the gun, tore it out of her hands, and threw it. His hands went to her neck; he held her tightly and drew her close to him.
"You, come with me." he smiled.
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